Real Anniversary
by JMolover13
Summary: Emma and Regina have two anniversaries every year. Their real one and their public one. This is just a slice-of-life vignette, if you will, of our lovely Swan Queen.


**Anonymous asked you: OMG I loved the** (pre-season two) **promo and it gave me a prompt for you. Every year on their anniversary Regina uses magic to give Emma a blue butterfly.**

Emma was 56. She'd been Sheriff of Storybrooke for as long as she'd been alive when she moved into town and got the job. Though it was initially as deputy, it took hardly anytime before Graham quit, named her sheriff and joined the Storybrooke Wildlife Refuge Team. So, she'd pretty much had to keep the town in order when she hardly knew it. And to think that she only took the job to grow her roots.

She smirked to herself as she sat on the diner stool and thought about just how rooted she'd become. She had a wife and three kids—two of which were at home; one for one more year, the other two more. She'd been in a relationship with the town mayor for almost as long as she'd been in town. They're anniversary was the same day that she'd been instated as sheriff, though the mayor would never let her admit that to anyone. So, their 'anniversary'—the public anniversary was three months after 'Emma's swearing in as sheriff'—the real anniversary.

And tonight just so happened to be the first anniversary; the real one.

She didn't mind it much. She got two anniversary dinners, one in public and one at home. She also got two blue butterflies a year. And she gave two purple butterflies a year. They were a sight to see now. The things lived for forever. Though they were magical butterflies, it was still amazing to watch them. And this year, she would have given and would have received as many butterflies as she was old, and that seemed special to her, but she didn't know why. It almost seemed symbolic, or important in someway. It's almost like she wasn't gone from this place the first half of her life.

"Hey, hey. What are you thinking so hard about, Sheriff?" Ruby came over and poured her another cup of coffee.

"Hmm? Nothing…"

Ruby gave her a look, "I know that's a lie."

Emma smiled, "I was just thinking that I've been here as long as I haven't been here and everything that I've come to know therein."

Ruby pursed her lips and nodded, "Wow… You are quite the philosopher, aren't you?"

Emma chuckled, "Shut up." She shook her head and brought her coffee to her mouth.

"I'm serious! You're sitting here pondering the ways of life and that you know that you've been here as long as you haven't or whatever you said to me while the rest of us are just trying to wake up!"

Emma gave her friend a warning look, but before she could say anything the door opened and Kate, Addie and Regina came in.

God Emma was damn lucky. Regina had grayed over the years, but the woman's body was still to die for. And she pulled off the salt and pepper, silver foxy look like no other mom, including Emma. Emma was a bottle blonde and didn't care. She couldn't stand her own graying hair, so she covered it.

She smiled at her wife as their girls bustled in and chose a table.

"Hi, Mom." Kate called as she sat in a chair at a table.

"Hey, Mom." Addie plopped into a seat.

"Morning girls." Emma smiled to them both before turning her attention back to her wife.

Regina took off her coat and set it and her purse in a seat before she walked over to her wife.

Emma turned and shooed Ruby, set her mug down and pushed it out of the way before the woman got to her.

The mayor wrapped her arms around the sheriff's neck. And, the sheriff in turn, spread her legs a little, pulling her in, and wrapped her arms tight around the mayor's waist.

"Good morning, Sheriff Swan." Regina smiled as she kissed the blonde before her.

"Good morning, Madam Mayor." Emma responded during a pause in their kisses.

"Anything big, bad, and/or magical give you any excitement?"

Emma shook her head, "Nope, just Grumpy and Tiny trying to tear up the town after too much to drink."

"Mmm, well that's good that there was no excitement. Today is an important day and I need you rested for this evening…"

"Oh yeah?" Emma asked as her hold loosened and she ran her hands up and down her wife's sides. Regina smiled and nodded before she leaned into kiss her wife once more.

"What's this evening?" Ruby asked; she apparently did not walk away as per Emma's earlier hand gesture.

Regina pulled from Emma and looked to the waitress with surprise, "Ruby, dear?"

"Yes, Madam Mayor?" the still young brunette smirked before giving a shit-eating grin.

"How long have you been there?"

"Since you came in… What's tonight—oh! Is tonight the Swearing-in-iversary?" She asked with a happy clap.

"It is." Regina leaned into her wife more to take the mug of coffee Emma had moved to the side before pulling away and taking a sip.

"Hey! That's mine."

"Yes, but darling, you're going to go home and sleep, you don't need this. You want cocoa?"

Emma opened her mouth to retaliate but then simply turned and gave Ruby a pleading look.

"I'll bring it to your table." Ruby smiled then looked to Addie and Kate, "You girls want cocoa?"

"Yes!" Came from Addie, the youngest child.

And "Coffee, please!" came from Kate, the oldest daughter and oldest child still in the house.

Ruby nodded and turned to get their drinks for them, "Madam Mayor, do you want to keep using your wife's mug, or bring you a fresh one?"

"This is fine." The mayor took the saucer from the counter and waited until Emma stood and pressed her hand into her lower back to signal she had gathered her things and was ready to move.

Ruby only smiled as her favorite couple made their way to their table.

Regina set her coffee down before taking her seat and Emma threw her coat over the back of the chair before taking hers. The blonde wrapped an arm over the back over her wife's chair.

"Ugh, I hate anniversary season… it's way worse than holidays or birthdays…" Addie said as she watched her mothers peck three times before looking over to her sister.

"It really is. And Momma always makes sure to work more night shifts so that Mom is extra mushy."

"I do not!" Emma tried.

"Do too!" Both daughters said at once.

"Well, you two just have to get over the fact that your parents love each other. It's way more than they had growing up." Ruby interrupted as she set the cocoas and coffee down. She turned to Emma, "Is your deputy or any of his clan joining you?"

Emma looked at Regina for any idea whether 'the clan' would be joining them, "My deputy is already at work and I'm pretty sure I don't get to see my grandbabies until tonight."

"Oh, alright." Ruby rolled her eyes, showing slight disappointment at not getting to see the grandbabies, "You ladies want your usual?"

A resounding "Yes." came from the table.

~0~0~0~0~0~

They'd spent dinner with Emma's deputy—he also goes by Henry Mills-Swan—his clan, and the girls. This particular year, they decided to let the girls have the mansion to themselves.

They knew the girls wouldn't do anything stupid like throw a party that could get out of control seeing as they are the mayor and the sheriff's daughters, so they felt safe with the decision.

Emma and Regina walked hand in hand that night up the path to their cottage in the woods.

"That was the best family dinner ever." Emma said as they got to the porch bench swing. Regina sat in the middle while Emma popped up on the railing of the porch to sit across from her.

"You're just happy that Henry and Ava brought Remy and Jack…"

Emma grinned, "Well, they're both so CHUNKY! I mean, I know that they're a year apart and Remy can talk and stuff, but they're just so chunky I could die."

"Not to mention they're our grandchildren, which means we get to rile them up and give them back…"

"Exactly!" Emma nodded with a grin.

The mood changed as they stared at each other and Regina stood up, "You want me to slip into something?"

Emma smiled, "Well, it is our real anniversary…"

"You have to slip into something too…"

"Gladly. Because what you find uber sexy on me and what I find uber sexy on you means that at least I get to have sleeves." She chuckled before she leaned in to kiss her wife, "though you get to wear panties…"

Regina grinned, "Yes I do." She snapped her fingers and Emma was put into a flannel shirt, unbuttoned, and Regina was wearing a silk and lace slip that left nothing to the imagination.

It amazed them how much, after 28 years, they still loved to look at each other, how much they still found the other heart-racing-ly sexy. Emma reached for Regina first, but the graying brunette stopped her, "Come on, darling."

She led her down into the field that the cottage lined. "Are you ready for your present?"

"Yeah." Emma's grin was wide, "You?"

"Mhmm."

They held hands as they let magic drip from their fingers over the field. There came every butterfly they'd ever created and one more for the evening. The purple and blue of their wings and antennae lit up the night and the butterflies swirled around them almost as if they were performing age-old dance.

Emma and Regina held onto each other as they pulled from the trance the butterflies set them in, and stared into each other's eyes.

"Happy real anniversary." Regina smiled.

"Happy real anniversary, Baby."

"I love you."

"Always."

**AN: Hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
